Kamen Rider W x Tantei Opera Milky Holmes: The Dopant Thief Empire
by Jokarin
Summary: The two-in-one detective of Fuuto must suddenly join forces with the once-revered detective team of Yokohama when a familiar group of Phantom Thieves discover the dangerous powers of gaia memories.
1. Chapter 1

Fuuto.

The Windy City.

A beautiful metropolis with a sinister underbelly. Home to criminals and psychopaths who have access to truly frightening devices known as gaia memories. With these compact devices and a grafted access point on the user's skin, even the weakest of individuals could gain literally monstrous powers. That said, acquiring them isn't an easy feat...unless you have a few connections. A man wearing an all-white uniform quietly made his way down one of the city's many back alleyways , in his grasp a small black briefcase. The full moon shown down as he reached the alley's end, which lead to a wide-open parking lot type of area. He looked around, as if checking to see if anyone was there.

"I assume that you are all present. Based on what I read from our records on you, I know for a fact that you people aren't exactly the type to be late."

As soon as he finished, four figures suddenly appeared within the shadows. The lone female-looking one of the group stepped forward into the moonlight. She was dressed in a surprisingly revealing black leather one piece, complete with matching thigh-high boots and forearm-length gloves. She wore a flowing black cape with red lining, its collar large and pointed. Her silverish hair glowed in the moonbeams, tied up in an elegant sidetail while the rest was bunched up in tight buns that hung by her neck. Her eyes were concealed in a simple black domino mask and a small gold crown sat on her head. She smiled slyly as the man bowed his head in respect. "Lady Arsene. It is an honor."

"My, what a respectful greeting." Arsene crossed her arms. "I never expected a group like Foundation X to have such gentlemanly employees."

"It is only customary for us to know our subjects inside and out. That also goes for your cohorts as well. Mister Stone River..." A second figure stepped out of the shadow. It was a very stern-looking man wearing a vest that looked suitable for combat, a spade patch on its lower right side. His hair was tied back in a small ponytail and in his hand he held a sheathed katana. "Hmph..."

"...Mister Twenty..." The next to stroll out from the darkness was a well-dressed man in a white suit, complete with black gloves and boots, a black top hat and a monocle on his left eye. His smiled oozed of self-centered lust as he adjusted his hat. "What a lovely labcoat. White looks much better on me, though."

"...and Mister Rat." The final member of the group stepped out with a smirk. The shortest of the quartet, the boy also wore the most casual outfit consisting of a grey dress shirt, red and black shorts held up by similarly colored suspenders and a black and red skullcap with cat-like ears. The end of his hair was tied up in a rat tail. He smuggishly crossed his arms behind his head. "You can tell this guy read up on us. He actually bothered to get my name right."

"My apologies, I haven't formally introduced myself yet. I am Kazu Jun, a researcher of Foundation X. We specialize in researching and experimenting on the...potentials...of certain types of energy sources and materials." He held up his briefcase and undid the clasps on the front. "This is one type of source we look into." Jun opened the case to reveal four USB devices, each with its own letter emblazoned on their faces. Also included was a small pistol-like device that looked like it could be used in the medical field. "These are gaia memories. Small devices that hold an amazing amount of power."

"Heeeh?" Twenty eyed the devices with nothing but doubt, picking up the D-labeled memory. "Power? These things look like they came out of a gachapon machine."

"Do not let your eyes fool you." Arsene spoke, picking up her own N memory. "From what I've seen, these are definitely a force to be reckoned with." Stone River quickly strutted up to her side, taking the P memory. "Arsene-sama...you've seen these before?"

"I have. I was the one who contacted Foundation X, after all. It's only natural that I'd look into what interests me."

"You are as smart as I imagined, Lady Arsene." Jun responded, turning to the male trio. "We have been in contact for a few weeks now. It seems, when it comes to gaia memories, that we have an equal set of interests."

"Oh yeah? How about explaining what that means instead of keeping the rest of us in the dark then." Rat huffed, taking the last remaining memory in the case, marked with an M.

"Gladly. May I first start out by saying that I find it very intriguing that you each happened to pick up the gaia memory we have specifically chosen for you. We have studied each of your abilities. Or 'Toys' as you seem to call them." Jun spoke calmly, yet coldly. Almost completely void of emotion. "You four shall be Foundation X's newest test subjects in the study of gaia memories."

"Test subjects?!" Stone River began to unsheathe his sword. "The Gentleman Thief Empire, especially Arsene-sama, are no one's guinea pigs! We did not agree to this!"

"I did." Arsene's arm blocked Stone River's way, easing him out of his offensive stance.

"What?! B-But Arsene-sama-!"

"Relax. This experiment may actually be a pioneering achievement in the world of Phantom Thieves. Remember what he just said: Each memory was chosen based on our Toys. You realize what that could mean for us, don't you?"

"Uuuuh...Sorry to sound dense, but...I don't really get it." Rat scratched his head. Twenty nodded in agreement. "As much as it pains me to say, my beautiful mind just can't wrap itself around any of this! The poor thing..." He removed his top hat in order to pat his own head.

Jun took the moment to explain further. "Each of these memories have abilities that match your own. We'd like to see how this affects their power...and how their power affects you." Arsene then picked up to where Jun left off. "If this is successful, it would mean a turning point in the relationship between Phantom Thieves and Detectives. Thieves would be using these to make their heists easier. Any opposition would be nothing worth fretting over. A wonderful outcome, don't you agree?"

"I see..." Stone River nodded. "Yes...I understand now. If our Toys are enhanced beyond their limit while still being within our control, then nobody would be able to stand in our way. Not the police...or those idiots Milky Holmes."

"Ha! We could already wipe the floor with 'em, so just imagine what we can do with these things!" Rat grinned, holding his memory tighter.

Arsene frowned before addressing her followers once more. "Do not let the power go to your heads. Phantom thieves who act like rampant monsters an abuse their abilities have no honor. And in turn, their heists lose their elegancy. We aren't named the Gentleman Thief Empire for nothing."

"Of course! Beauty is what makes us who we are, after all." Twenty spoke in a sickeningly sweet tone. "And if these things will make us even more beautiful, than who are we to object?"

"Then if we're all in agreement, I shall perform the quick and simple procedure of applying access points to your bodies." Jun said, removing the small medical gun from the suitcase. "From that point on, your memories can be used whenever you'd like. As long as Foundation X is able to observe and record your data during the process...you are free to do whatever you'd like."

As the three males centered around Jun to have their living connectors applied, Arsene hung back a moment longer. She looked at her N-labeled gaia memory and smiled. "_Sherlock Shellinford...This will be the ultimate test for you and your team. Show me that you still have what it takes to reclaim your pride as Detectives._"


	2. Chapter 2

"OI, AKIKO!" The well-dressed, fedora-wearing Hidari Shoutarou stormed into his tiny apartment in search of his young landlady and boss. Though in his mind, refering to her as "Boss" was wrong in so many ways. While Akiko may be the daughter of his deceased mentor and former boss, Narumi Soukichi, she didn't have his level of skills or intuition as a private detective. Not yet, anyway. On top of that her stubborn, hard-headed attitude and ability to get herself into danger added up into a headache that Shoutarou just couldn't deal with sometimes. He found Akiko sitting at his desk, the chair facing the wall. "I heard from Jinnou-san that last week you PERSONALLY decided to take in some junior apprentices? Where exactly was I in all of this?!"

When Akiko turned around, she was wearing an old-fashioned detective's outfit, complete with a smoking pipe. Though in her case, it merely blew bubbles out from its end. "Why do you sound so upset? Don't you think this is a great chance to get the word out about the agency? The police station is taking in some younger police officers, so why don't we take in some young detectives? We can show them how the real work is done!"

"Did you forget that we aren't like other agencies?" Shoutarou snatched the bubble pipe out of her mouth. "Two words: KAMEN. RIDER. Do you know how impossible it would be having to babysit a group of kids if another dopant case pops up?! And you KNOW one will! They always do!"

"Well...yeah we deal with every single dopant, but you worry too much! It'll only be for a month! Besides, I bet we'll get off easy with cases! A lost dog case here, a missing jewelry case there and then before you know it they'll be heading back home without a second thought!" Akiko smiled before immediately making a lunge for her pipe, only for Shoutarou to lift it out of her reach.

"Yeah, okay, sure. In that case, how about living conditions? Do you really think this place can hold more than just two people for a straight month? My bed, desk and kitchen are all in the same room for crying out loud!"

"Just buy some futons."

"YOU BUY SOME FUTONS, THIS WAS YOUR IDEA!"

"Shoutarou, did you say you were going to buy some futons?" A second person had entered the conversation in the form of Shoutarou's partner, Philip. The eccentrically-dressed young man held his chin in curiosity, a sparkle in his eye. "I've always wanted to sleep in one. They're low to the ground and look somewhat flat, but apparently it could feel like sleeping on a cloud if you buy a well-made one."

"Philip, not right now. We've got bigger problems here."

"Oh, you're referring to the students we're supposed to be mentoring?"

"HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT BEFORE I DID?!"

"Akiko told me about a week ago. Apparently they're from a school located in Yokohama. Jinnou Mikio and his team are apparently going to be mentoring a junior police unit from the same city."

"At least Jinnou-san will be in the same boat as us..." Shoutarou sighed with a slight hint of relief. Though he and Jinnou Mikio, one of the Fuuto Police Department's senior detectives, worked well together, he still felt a at ease that he wouldn't be the only one to have to suffer through something like this. "Wait, you said Yokohama? Pretty sure I heard a lot of weird stuff about that prefecture. Lots of old-school crime like bank robberies and jewel thefts."

"Correct. Furthering my research also showed that they have a high interest in detective work. The youth of the city, at least."

"Huh. That explains this month-long thing...Speaking of which..." Shoutarou turned back to Akiko, who gave him an innocent tilt of the head. "When exactly are these kids supposed to be coming here, anyway?"

"Oh, later this evening."

"..." Shoutarou marched up to Akiko and tightly took hold of her cheeks, stretching them out. "Akiko-san. Please go out and do some shopping for me. In case you didn't realize, we're probably going to need plenty of food to feed the extra mouths for the next four weeks. Philip and I will handle the futons. Do you understand?"

"OWOWOW OKEH OKEH I GETCHIT JUSHT LET GUUUUU!" Akiko pleaded before prying herself out of Shoutarou's grasp, huffing angrily. "You're lucky I'm always in a good mood or else I'd triple your rent right now!"

"Yeah yeah, have a safe trip." Shoutarou waved her off nonchalantly as he went to his desk to scrounge up whatever saved up money he got from recent cases. "Oi, Philip. C'mon, we're going futon-hunting."

Philip grew a bit excited. "Excellent, I can try them out first-hand."

"It doesn't work that way, Philip. They don't exactly let you try them ou-" As Shoutarou attempted to make his way out of the front door, he found himself blocked by a group of four girls standing at his doorstep. They were casually dressed, each with large bags on their backs. The girl at the head of the group, with her light pink hair done up in two loops with long bangs draping her shoulders and topped with a large yellow bow on her head, addressed him while also glancing down at a piece of paper.

"Um! Sorry to bother you, but would you happen to be...let's see...Hidari Shoutarou-san?"

Shoutarou nodded in slight confusion. "...Yes?"

"So does that mean this is the Narumi Detective Agency?" The girl's face brightened.

"Ah, uh...yeah! Did you girls have a case for me or-"

"AHA! We found it!" Before Shoutarou could finish, the group quickly made their way into the apartment, setting their bags down by the couch. "See? I told you we'd find it no problem!"

One of the other girls, this one with short, orange hair, sighed as she followed behind. "Sharo, we passed this place like four times before! We knew where it was twenty minutes ago but didn't bother to check!"

Sharo twiddled her fingers. "It's not my fault it's blocked by a pool hall..."

"The sign near the front said the agency was down the alley!"

"It could have been a clever trap to MAKE us think that!"

"Whoa-whoa-whoa..." Shotarou interrupted. "...don't tell me you girls are..."

"Oh, right! Introductions!" Sharo cleared her throat before standing at attention. "I'm Sherlock Shellinford! Everyone calls me Sharo!"

The orange-haired girl spoke next, retrieving a candy bar from her pocket with a grin. "Nero Yuzurizaki. Pleased to meetcha!"

The next girl had long, violet hair. Her constant fidgeting made it obvious that she was a particularly shy person. "H-...H-Hercule Barton...E-Eri for short..."

The final girl had flowing blonde locks with what seemed to be flowers scattered throughout. She flipped her hair back confidently. "Cordelia Glauca. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"You ARE the junior detectives we were expecting..." Shoutarou held his head. "Damn that Akiko, she didn't even get their arrival time right!"

"We're not junior detectives! We're..." Sharo proclaimed as the other three gathered beside her, striking poses before speaking in unison. "...Tantei Opera Milky Holmes!"

"...Eh?" Shoutarou stared dumbfounded before gathering himself. "Um...Excuse me for a moment, ladies." He quickly shuffled over to Philip's side for a private conversation. "Philip, help me out here. I wanna say I've heard that name before, but do a quick fact check for me."

"Of course." Philip closed his eyes, his consciousness transported to a white abyss as suddenly dozens upon dozens of bookshelves shifted in around him, forming a mental library of information. "The keyword is 'Milky Holmes'." Upon speaking the name, the shelves rapidly began condensing and disappearing before all that was left was a shelf with one book resting upon it. Philip flipped through it while reciting his findings to his partner. "Apparently Milky Holmes is the name of Yokohama's most famous and revered detective team, who used their skills to their greatest potential in order to stop dozens of crimes and solve hundreds of mysteries."

"Revered detectives...?" Shoutarou looked over to the girls before him. Sharo was busy unpacking a bunch of her stuff while Eri tried to help, tripping over herself in the process. Cordelia was suddenly wearing a bandanna over her head and a mask over the bottom of her face, vigorously dusting the area to keep it nice and clean for everyone else. As for Nero, she was currently rummaging through Shoutarou's refrigerator on the search for anything tasty. "O-OI, no one gave you permission to raid my fridge!...Ugh...Anything else, Philip?"

"Interesting...It seems that there was a stretch of time in which Milky Holmes hit an extremely low point in their careers, losing most of their credibility and fame in the process...What's strange is I don't have anymore detailed information on that part of their history. It's like it just stops in its tracks..."

"Really...And these girls are claiming to be that same team, huh..." Shoutarou tipped his hat in thought as Sharo approached him, having finished unpacking her essentials and wanting to learn more about her temporary teacher. "Hidari-san, what kind of Toys do you have?"

"Toys?...This isn't a daycare, you know. We don't keep any toys around for kids."

"No no, not toys. Toys!"

"...What's the difference?"

"U-Um...I-I have a feeling Hidari-san doesn't have any-" Eri tried to chime in, only for Nero to interrupt her immediately. "C'mon, you gotta have Toys. You ain't a big-name detective without Toys!" Cordelia stopped her dusting to join in on the conversation as well. "Now now, perhaps Hidari-san doesn't wish to expose his Toys to others. Being unpredictable is the best way to catch a criminal, don't you agree?"

"...Philip, do you mind."

Philip sighed and entered the planet bookshelves once more. "Toys...There are two definitions. The first would be a child's plaything. A ball, a model plane or car, a-"

"I think I understand that part. The second definition, please?"

"...A term used to describe the superhuman ability housed within certain individuals. Toys are mostly genetic in nature and are usually inherited from an individual's Mother and-or Father, though there is no guarantee that the inherited ability will be the same as the parent's."

"Superhuman...? W-Wait, you mean like actual super powers?!" Though he dealt with superhuman stuff on a regular basis, all of it, including his and Philip's Kamen Rider abilities, were created and could only be used via technology. Not even Philip's ability to access the knowledge held within the planet bookshelves was something he was born with or had his entire life. To learn that actual, natural super powers actually existed was pretty surprising. Even moreso that this group of girls knew about them as if it were common knowledge.

"Guys, I-I really don't think he actually has any-" Once again, Eri's voice was drowned out by Nero, Cordelia and Sharo's much louder conversation. "If he's gonna be teachin' us stuff, the least he can do is give us a hint at what kinda Toys he's got!"

"You're being way too pushy towards someone kind enough to let us stay in his home, Nero! If he doesn't want to tell us than he shouldn't have to!"

"A-Aha...W-Why don't we just brainstorm what his Toys could be and THEN ask him later? Huh?...Girls?"

"I'D HATE TO BURST YOUR COLLECTIVE BUBBLE." Shoutarou loudly proclaimed, quieting the trio. "...but this whole 'Toys' thing? I don't have 'em. I'm just a normal guy."

"...EEEEH?!" Sharo, Nero and Cordelia all blurted out in unified shock. Eri, on the other hand, simply pouted. Puffing out her cheeks rather cutely. "That's what I've been trying to tell you..."

"T-That can't be possible! All detectives have Toys!" Sharo cried out, her large bow wriggling and bouncing violently. "That's what makes them detectives in the first place!"

"Well sorry kid, but I ain't got any." Shoutaro huffed. Being interrogated by a bunch of kids was really starting to get on his nerves. If this was how things were going to be for the next month, he was dreading every minute of it. Before the girls could question him further, a large, robotic-looking stag beetle fluttered into the room with a constant beeping noise, zig-zagging around the girls and giving Cordelia in particular a huge fright. "KYAHAH! W-W-WHAT IS THAT?! IS THAT A BEETLE?! I-IT'S SO GROTESQUE!"

Shoutaro ignored the blonde's shrieking as her friends tried to calm her back down, grabbing the beetle out of the air as it shifted into a large cellphone-like device. He flipped it open to answer it, believing it to be Akiko wanting to bother him again. "Akiko, if you're calling to ask what to bring back, just buy whatever's cheap and easy to-"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not the Chief."

"...Terui." It was Terui Ryu, superintendent of the F.P.D. as well as the head of their Paranormal Crime Investigation Division. While Shoutarou wouldn't exactly call him a friend, he was still a worthwhile comrade and fellow Kamen Rider. Shoutarou sighed before answering more professionally. "Forget everything I just said right now. What's up?"

"At the scene of a robbery that you might want to know a bit more about. You should head down here and take a look yourself. I'll send you the location."

"That so. I'll be right down." He closed the stag phone before getting up and heading for the door. "Sorry girls, but duty calls. Philip, keep an eye on 'em. Make sure they don't stick their noses where they don't belong." He subtly motioned to the hat rack on the nearby wall. The girls rushed after him in an attempt to join in on the investigation, only for the fedora-wearing detective to stop them in their tracks. "Woah woah, in case you didn't hear...you can't come along."

"Eh?! But you're goin' to a crime scene, right? We've gotta check stuff out, too!" Nero huffed.

"It's our duty as detectives! That's the reason we're here!" Cordelia added.

"Listen, I dunno what kind of detectives you think you are, but right now until I get concrete evidence that you really are this highly-revered 'Milky Holmes' team, you four are sticking around here. That's final." With that, Shoutarou made his way out into town. The girls were disappointed. The whole reason they were here was to get a refresher course in detective work and not only was the detective in question completely Toyless but he was also treating them more like nuisance than anything else.

"What a jerk! Why did Henriette-san even assign us to a guy like him in the first place?!" Nero was fuming, grabbing a giant cheeto stick from her pocket, unwrapping it and taking a large, crunchy bite out of it in annoyance.

"It does seem kind of pointless to be here...If Hidari-san doesn't see us as actual detectives, we won't get much out of staying with him..." Eri agreed. She wasn't exactly one for staying somewhere that her and her friends weren't wanted. Cordelia joined in. "Agreed! I, for one, don't exactly enjoy being treated like some kind of snot-nosed child! My nose is completely clean and snot-free, thank you very much!"

"I'm sorry for the first impression Shoutarou's given you girls." Philip spoke up. As the only person in the apartment who truly understood how Shoutarou worked, he figured it'd be best to try and play devil's advocate. "He's just somewhat...stressed. To tell you the truth, he's not a bad person at all."

"After insultin' us like that?!" Nero countered.

"Shoutarou's not exactly the type to act all compassionate right off the bat...I suppose it comes from his teachings as a private detective." Philip chuckled. "I always point out that he's a half-boiled man trying to be a hard-boiled detective. He sees himself as having a large pair of shoes to fill."

"...Can't he just get shoes that fit correctly?" Cordelia asked obliviously.

Sharo smiled before bouncing over in-between Philip and her comrades. "Come on girls, the weird boy is right! We don't really know how Hidari-san works yet, so maybe it'd be best to just suck it up and wait for next time! 'Kay?"

"...'W-Weird Boy'?" Philip was at a loss as the group of girls continued to converse on their own.


	3. Chapter 3

"A jewelry place, huh?" Shoutarou hopped off his black and green motorcycle upon arriving at the crime scene, setting his helmet down on the leather seat. The front of a large jewelry store was blocked off by police barriers as F.P.D.-branded cop cars lined the streets. As he approached the blockade he spied a familiar man wearing a red leather jacket. He called out to him with a quick, nonchalant wave. "Yo, Terui."

"Hidari. Glad you could make it." Ryu responded, nodding his head before returning his attention to the situation at hand. "Try and take a guess what happened here. In the middle of the day, no less."

It only took Shoutarou a quick moment to decipher what had happened. "...Wait, seriously? You're saying a robbery?"

"Not just a simple robbery." Terui sighed, crossing his arms. "A full-on jewel heist. Every high-priced jewel in the place was stolen. And considering how well-off this place was, that basically means all of them."

"In broad daylight...There's no way that's possible. No one's that skilled...or lucky."

"On the contrary." Ryu pointed out the shattered glass on the front door. "A few of our men had to break the glass just to get inside. The place was still locked up when we got here."

"What about the owner?"

"That's the interesting part. One of his customers came by to pick up a custom order, but when she arrived she spotted him through the window rocking back and forth. She put in a call when she also noticed all the barren window displays."

"Rocking back and forth?" Shoutarou was confused. Usually a thief would either subdue, knock out or, in darker cases, flat-out kill anyone working in the place they planned to rob. "And he wasn't tied up or anything?"

"Not at all. Apparently he looked like he'd come face-to-face with death itself. Sound like the side-affect of something familiar?"

"Sounds like the work of a dopant..." Shoutarou stroked his chin. The side-effect did indeed sound familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It also raised another question; If it were a familiar-sounding reaction, that meant the dopant in question was one he had faced before. "It's a good starting lead, but we need more clues if we want this investigation to gain-...Uh...Terui? Give me a second." Shoutarou noticed something out of place in the various groups of police officers behind Ryu. He walked over to what looked like a little blonde girl watching nearby one of the barricades, arms crossed with a stern look on her face. Her hair was done up in twin drills with two bangs framing her face, complete with a pair of black, lace-trimmed bows on the sides of her head. The strangest part, however, was that she was wearing a police uniform herself.

"Oi, little girl." Shoutarou quickly walked up to her, prepared to escort her to a safer area. "It's great that you wanna grow up to be a police officer someday and all, but this is no place for kids."

A noticeable vein popped up on the girl's forehead, throbbing violently as she slowly turned to the half-boiled detective. "Did you...just call me...'little girl'...you PUNK?!"

Ryu simply pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. "Here we go..."

"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! OF COURSE YOU DON'T! YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY TOO STUPID TO KNOW WHEN YOU'RE ADDRESSING SOMEONE WAY OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE, YOU DUMBASS GUMSHOE!" The blonde went on an immediate tirade, stomping her foot in anger and disgust. Shoutarou was simply left dumbfounded. This was the last thing he expected to hear. "U-Um...My apologies, Ma'am...? So who exactly are-"

"AKECHI KOKORO! THE CHILD PRODIGY WITH AN IQ OF THIRTY THOUSAND!" Kokoro stood proudly. "AS WELL AS THE BRAINS BEHIND YOKOHAMA'S MOST SUCCESSFUL SPECIAL POLICE UNIT...GENIUS 4!" The girl posed...but found herself alone in her declaration. She quickly looked around the area. "Hello?! I said 'Yokohama's most successful special police unit, Genius 4'!"

"Ahaaa, our bad, Kokoro." A taller girl with short green hair walked out from behind one of the police cars. "We were kinda busy getting info from the fellow boys in blue..." She was followed by two other girls. One had flowing, raven-colored hair, a hair clip placed on the left side of her bangs and two segments of her locks framing her face, each decorated with large, round hair beads. The other had bubblegum-pink hair with a set of headphones occupying her noggin. She was sucking on a lollipop with a sleepy, uninterested gaze.

"Oh, is this the detective Terui-san informed us about before?" The raven-haired girl asked before bowing politely. "Greetings. I am Hasegawa Hirano. G4's close combat specialist."

"Name's Zenigata Tsugiko!" The green-haired one added, pulling her gun out from her holster and giving it a twirl. "You need a gunner or driver? I'm your girl!" She gave Shoutarou a sly wink. The pink-haired girl was too busy typing away on her laptop to give her own introduction, so Tsugiko did it for her. "Uh, don't mind her. Her name's Tooyama Saku. She's our resident hacker and info seeker."

"...Yo." Saku greeted halfheartedly, not bothering to lift her eyes up from her screen.

Kokoro was busy massaging her temple. She let out an annoyed huff before planting her hands back on her hips. "Yes. Okay. Now you've met my team, BUT DON'T LET OUR APPEARANCE FOOL YOU! G4 can do and has done more than any dinky detectives could ever DREAM of accomplishing!"

"...Uh-huh. So basically, you're a little girl with a huge ego is what I'm getting." Shoutarou replied flatly. Kokoro's face glowed red with anger, almost lashing out at the detective before Tsugiko grabbed hold of her, struggling to contain the girl's thrashing and flailing. "YOU SMART-MOUTHED PUNK! LEMME GO SO I CAN DESTROY THIS SON OF A BI-"

"Whoooa whoa whoa, let's all calm down." Jinnou had finally joined the conversation, returning from examining the jewlry store's interior. The older police detective casually tapped his handy backscratcher against his shoulder. "Shoutarou, nice to see you around, but nooo need to worry. Just your small-time jewel theft, nothing big."

"Uh...from what Terui told me, this is way more than just a routine robbery, Jinnou-san." While Shoutarou respected his elder crime investigator, he had to admit that sometimes Jinnou could be a bit too laid back for his taste. Jinnou definitely wasn't stupid, but he could have used a bit more motivation in his field. The young detective was certain that if his elder asserted his smarts a bit more, he'd be one of the best on the force. "I mean just look at the situation. There's no way some two-bit crooks could pull off a heist this clean..."

"Scans show the alarm system wasn't tripped, either..." Saku added, fingers pounding at her laptop's keyboard with a dull expression. "Like fedora man said...S'not a routine robbery..."

"Oi, Saku! No taking sides with the bootleg cop!" Kokoro scolded before gaining a more professional posture and stern expression. "As my colleague said, Mikiou-san, from what Terui-san and our fellow officers have discovered while investigating the crime scene, this was professionally done. Little to no evidence was left at the scene other than what looked like burn marks...and the owner's emotional condition, of course." The girl then shot Shoutarou a smug-looking smirk, as if hoping he'd be impressed by her load of info to the point of jealousy. The detective, however, was too busy jotting down the bits of useful evidence she had just shared. Kokoro couldn't help but falter. "H-Hey! That's confidential police information! That's not for some Dick Tracy wannabe to use!"

"Sorry, kid." Shoutarou closed his notepad and tipped his fedora cooly. "Jinnou-san and Terui share investigation tidbits with me all the time. So you aren't any different...Also, if it's supposed to be confidential, maybe next time don't say it out-loud for everyone nearby to hear."

"You...Y-YOU-...!" Before Kokoro could get a chance to bare her fangs, Shoutarou was already making his way back to his bike, his attention now on bidding Terui a farewell. "I'll go over the specifics with Philip. All of this stuff smells of dopant...but we won't really know unless they strike a second time..."

"Mmh. Fuuto houses plenty of other big-name jewelers. I'll request two-man squad patrols around the city to keep a lookout. If time of day doesn't phase their heists, then they'll strike whenever they see fit...We'll need to be on our toes."

"Not a problem." Shoutarou flicked his wrist into a point as he settled onto his bike, its motor revved and ready to go. "I won't let this city shed another tear on my watch. Count on it." He put his helmet on, kicking up the bike stand before turning to Terui one more time. "I'll keep in touch...Oh and make sure that pint-sized devil you're working with stays on her chain. Don't want her scaring off any future witnesses or the like."

"Yeah yeah, get going." Terui waved his comrade off, bike engine roaring down the road before turning around to find himself face-to-face, so to speak, with Kokoro. Her eyes narrowed into an icy glare, arms crossed tightly. The other members of G4 stood awkwardly behind her, glancing away as she fumed. "Ya didn't tell us anything about some snoopy, smart-mouthed DETECTIVE barging his way into this!"

"What's the big deal? He's been working alongside the F.P.D. for a good while now." Terui didn't really understand her anger. Sure, he and Shoutarou butted heads back when he returned to the city a good while back, but he soon acknowledged that he was a very skilled asset in criminal investigations, if a tad full of himself at times. Tsugiko couldn't help but interject. "Kokoro kinda has a superiority complex when it comes to detectives, ya see. She was always competin' with this group back home in Yoko-"

"TSUGIKO!" Kokoro snapped, causing her fellow squad-mates to flinch. "ENOUGH EXPLANATION, ALRIGHT?!...Ugh, can we just go back to base and process this info? We're burning daylight!" She stomped back to G4's squad car with a sourpuss expression, leaving the other girls and Terui to scratch their heads. "Tch. Detectives there, detective here, detectives all over! Always getting in the way of real police work!...Hmph...At least I don't have to worry about those idiots Milky Holmes dropping in out of nowhere. Keeping that fedora-wearing numskull out of the way should be easy enough..."

Peering down from the roof of a nearby building, the culprits of the robbery watched joyfully at the boys and girls in blue hustling around the crime scene. Their leader smirked, gaia memory firmly in her grasp. "These little devices are much more potent than I could have ever imagined." Arsene smirked, her cohorts agreeing almost instantly. Rat held an expensive-looking red ruby up to the sunlight, squinting as it twinkled a brilliant crimson. "Seriously, that job was a piece of cake! Think of what we can do with this kinda power!"

"Indeed. It seems these 'Foundation X' people have created quite formidable little devices...Arsene-sama, you were especially powerful." Stone River bowed to his leader graciously. Rat couldn't help but scoff silently. What a suck-up that samurai was.

"If our Toys are amplified this much with these little children's playthings..." Twenty added in, smiling snakishly. "...then just imagine how beautiful our heists will be from now on. Of course, they will not surpass my own beauty, but they shall come quite close with the strength we now possess, no?" As her partners continued to sing praises of their new-found abilities, Arsene simply crossed her arms with a confident smile. Fuuto was no Yokohama. There was no great age of detectives to worry about in this city. No chance of any other Toy wielders popping up to ruin their plans. Even with G4 being stationed in this new setting, the police would be a non-issue for her. This city was the perfect stomping ground to establish and expand the Gentleman Thief Empire...and to push Milky Holmes to their limits.

"My dear Milky Holmes..." She spoke softly, so that only she herself could hear. "You may have your Toys again...but do you still have the resolve a detective needs in order to keep an entire city safe? I wonder..."


End file.
